BlackRock

Pricing power is mixed by design. In core index ETFs, price is a weapon and fees are structurally low, limiting explicit pricing power.

Where BlackRock has meaningful latent power is in (1) private markets management and performance fees, which carry higher economics and are less commoditized, (2) technology and data subscriptions via Aladdin and Preqin where multi-year contracts, integration depth, and data uniqueness support steady price realization, and (3) differentiated exposures like digital assets ETFs, where early leadership confers some fee resilience.

IBIT’s 0.25 percent expense ratio indicates that even in new categories BlackRock competes on price but can earn attractive absolute dollars at scale. Our view is that mix shift toward private markets, solutions, and tech can lift blended economics over time, partially offsetting fee pressure in beta.